diff --git a/include/render/vulkan.h b/include/render/vulkan.h
index 8063291f..149161c2 100644
--- a/include/render/vulkan.h
+++ b/include/render/vulkan.h
@@ -231,9 +231,11 @@ bool vulkan_submit_stage_wait(struct wlr_vk_renderer *renderer);
 
 // Suballocates a buffer span with the given size that can be mapped
 // and used as staging buffer. The allocation is implicitly released when the
-// stage cb has finished execution.
+// stage cb has finished execution. The start of the span will be a multiple
+// of the given alignment.
 struct wlr_vk_buffer_span vulkan_get_stage_span(
-	struct wlr_vk_renderer *renderer, VkDeviceSize size);
+	struct wlr_vk_renderer *renderer, VkDeviceSize size,
+	VkDeviceSize alignment);
 
 // Tries to allocate a texture descriptor set. Will additionally
 // return the pool it was allocated from when successful (for freeing it later).
diff --git a/render/vulkan/renderer.c b/render/vulkan/renderer.c
index 0ef256c2..4a6f9bdf 100644
--- a/render/vulkan/renderer.c
+++ b/render/vulkan/renderer.c
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ static void release_stage_allocations(struct wlr_vk_renderer *renderer) {
 }
 
 struct wlr_vk_buffer_span vulkan_get_stage_span(struct wlr_vk_renderer *r,
-		VkDeviceSize size) {
+		VkDeviceSize size, VkDeviceSize alignment) {
 	// try to find free span
 	// simple greedy allocation algorithm - should be enough for this usecase
 	// since all allocations are freed together after the frame
@@ -215,6 +215,10 @@ struct wlr_vk_buffer_span vulkan_get_stage_span(struct wlr_vk_renderer *r,
 		}
 
 		assert(start <= buf->buf_size);
+
+		// ensure the proposed start is a multiple of alignment
+		start += alignment - 1 - ((start + alignment - 1) % alignment);
+
 		if (buf->buf_size - start < size) {
 			continue;
 		}
diff --git a/render/vulkan/texture.c b/render/vulkan/texture.c
index 45e3fec9..9437cafc 100644
--- a/render/vulkan/texture.c
+++ b/render/vulkan/texture.c
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ static bool write_pixels(struct wlr_vk_texture *texture,
 	}
 
 	// get staging buffer
-	struct wlr_vk_buffer_span span = vulkan_get_stage_span(renderer, bsize);
+	struct wlr_vk_buffer_span span = vulkan_get_stage_span(renderer, bsize, bytespb);
 	if (!span.buffer || span.alloc.size != bsize) {
 		wlr_log(WLR_ERROR, "Failed to retrieve staging buffer");
 		free(copies);